(Ezekiel 19:1-14)

I. The parable (a lamentation, 19:1,14)

A. The lioness represents either Judah or the royal family (19:2; cf. Psalm 89:3-4)
B. The first cub is Jehoahaz [Shallum] (19:3-4)
C. The second cub is Jehoiachin [Coniah] (19:5-9)
D. The third king lamented is Zedekiah [Mattaniah] (19:10-14)

II. A closer look at Jehoahaz

A. The son of Josiah, the last good king (2 Kings 23:25)
B. Taken into captivity into Egypt by Pharaoh Necho
C. The first Judean king to die in exile (2 Kings 23:31-34; Jeremiah 22:10-12)
D. Pharaoh Necho places Jehoiakim on the throne – Jehoiakim is not the second cub; he was despised by the people (Jeremiah 22:18-19)

III. A closer look at Jehoiachin

A. Carried into Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:10)
B. The hope was for him to return, but Babylon brought him out of prison and made him comfortable in that land (2 Kings 25:27-30)

IV. A closer look at Zedekiah

A. Another son of Josiah; uncle to Jehoiachin
B. Made king by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Chronicles 36:10)
C. The last of David’s dynasty to sit on the throne in Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1-7)

V. Lessons for today

A. We must not put our trust in any person, but especially an evil person (2 Kings 23:32; 24:9, 19)
B. The people trusted in the house of David rather than God – do we trust in the White House more than God’s house today?
C. Let us pray for the nation’s leaders—whoever they are—that their decisions do not hinder the work of the Lord’s church (1 Timothy 2:1-2)